Gold Medal Software 2/Gold Medal Software Volume 2 (Gold Medal) (1994).iso/os2/fm2_127.arj/FM2EXE.ARJ/FM2.HLP

OS/2 Help File | 1994-02-14 | 73KB | 1,793 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. How Do I... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This section contains commonly asked questions and commonly given answers.
Some of the questions were in the form "when will you make FM/2 able to
do...?", and it already did, so please take the time to browse this.  Thanks.
You can print this section out by clicking the Print button at the bottom of
this help frame.

How do I...

Change the container view?

Get a context menu for the container (click mouse button two once on an empty
area).  Pick the desired view from the context menu.

Get smaller icons?

Select Mini Icons from the container context menu.

Get more information about how to use the mouse, drag and drop and context
menus?

Run the OS/2 Tutorial.  There should be an object for it on your desktop;
highlight it and press [Enter].

Cancel a drag operation?

Press ESCape, or drop where the "don't drop" icon appears, like on a scroll bar
or title bar.

Tell which container has the focus?

OS/2 draws a dotted line around the current (cursored) object in the active
container.  When you have the main window Split it's important to know which is
the active container, as that's the one which will switch directories when you
double-click a directory in the tree container.  The sign is the dotted line.

Change the icon or date of an object?

Use the Attribs command on a popup menu for the object.  You can also change an
object's icon by copy-dragging an icon file onto the object, then selecting Set
Icon in the Drop on file object dialog, or by Opening its Settings notebook
from a context menu and using the standard WPS method.

Drag and drop to the toolbar/toolbox?  The toolbar renames, the toolbox moves
the files to the desktop!

You missed the toolbar/toolbox buttons.  Look for the emphasis border that
appears around the button when you're on target.  The tip of the cursor arrow
determines where you're dropping.  To make things easier for novices, the arrow
turns into a hand when you're over a toolbar/toolbox button that will accept
dropped objects.

Quickly rename an object?

Point at the object's name, hold down the ALT key and click mouse button one.
Enter the new name, then click the object again.

Quickly change the directory container to look at a different directory?

Double-click a directory in the tree container, or direct-edit (ALT+mouse
button one) the container's title.

See how big files are, or what their dates are?

Set the directory container's view to Details: Call up a context menu by
pressing button two over an empty area of the container to get the menu options
for changing views.

Quickly open a directory folder or an object's Settings notebook?

Look at the Open submenu in a context menu called up on the object.  Place the
mouse pointer on the object and press mouse button two to get a context menu of
commands that can be used on that object.

Make a new directory?

Pull up a context menu on any directory object.  Select the Make Directory
command.

Change the colors and fonts used by FM/2?

Use the Color Palette and Font Palette objects.  FM/2 will remember what you
changed.  Each container can be changed individually.  There are also container
context menu commands that lead to dialog boxes to get the job done (Change
Font and Change Colors); when you aren't running FM/2 as a WPS replacement,
these call up the Palette objects for you, instead.

Add commands to the Command submenu in context menus?

Use the Edit Commands command under a main window's Config pulldown menu.

Get FM/2 to do something special when I double-click an object of a particular
type?  For instance, if I double-click an .INF file I want VIEW.EXE to run.

Use the Edit Associations command under a main window's Config pulldown menu.
Add a filemask describing the type of object, and give a program to run when
the object type is selected.

Change the viewer or editor that FM/2 uses?

Invoke the External Program Setup dialog under FM/2's Config pulldown submenu.
I recommend you do set these to your favorite viewing/editing applications.

Change the archiver data used by FM/2?

Edit ARCHIVER.BB2 (it contains instructions; use a text editor), or run AV and
use its archiver editing dialog, or select the Edit Archiver Data command under
a main window's Config submenu.  If FM/2 encounters what it thinks is a
misconfigured archiver it'll display a dialog to help you adjust it.

Search for files?

Call up the Collector and use its Seek and Scan pulldown menu option.

See files on my CD-ROM drive?

Files on a CD-ROM are marked Read Only.  Be sure you've got your Filter set to
show Read Only files.

"Migrate" applications using FM/2?

To create program objects for programs, be sure the All objects shadows Toggle
is not checked, then call up a context menu on the executable and click Shadow.
A program object is created on the desktop (or whatever folder you've
desginated as the object container).  If you create more than one object at the
same time, they'll be placed in a folder.

"Clone" a file (create a copy of a file with a different name in the same
directory)?

Copy-drag it onto a blank spot in the directory container.  You'll get a
filename conflict resolution dialog where you can change the name of the new
file.  BTW, if you move-drop the file, a rename is initiated.

Get FM/2 to start invisible?

Put a ~ on the command line or in the Parameters field as above.  Note that the
~ argument should be the first given to FM/2, as it processes its arguments
sequentially.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Main Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

FM/2 performs routine move and copy operations best using drag and drop. Place
the mouse pointer over the object to move, then press and hold mouse button 2,
usually the right button.  Move the mouse, still holding button 2 down, and a
drag image should follow the mouse pointer. Press and hold the Ctrl key to
perform a copy instead of the default move operation (the drag image will "grey
out").  Note that if the object you selected is highlighted, the operation
involves all the highlighted objects in the container.

Drag this image to the target object (usually a directory in the tree
container) and release button 2 when it is over the desired target.  If you
want to cancel the drag operation, press the Escape key. Pressing the F1 key
over an FM/2 main window container will get you brief help.  The OS/2 tutorial
has more information and hands-on exercizes if you need more help with the
basics of drag and drop.

You can change the default drag action from Move to Copy using FM/2's Toggles
submenu.  When Copy is the default action, holding down the Shift key changes
the action to Move.

When you move or copy drop objects onto directory objects, things work just as
you might expect; the objects are moved or copied to the target directory.

What happens if you drop onto a file object?

Move-drop onto FM/2's file objects is prohibited.  This is for convenience,
believe it or not.  You can copy-drop onto an FM/2 file object, and you'll get
a popup listbox of options that can be performed. Link-dropping (hold CTRL and
Shift while dragging) always invokes special commands that are dependent on
where you drop. If you link-drop to WPS objects, the usual shadowing is
performed.  If you link-drop onto an FM/2 directory object, a dialog of options
appears (compare, wildcard copy or move, set icon).  If you link-drop onto an
FM/2 file object, what happens depends on what type of file the object
represents.  If the target object is an archive, the Archive dialog appears to
add the dropped objects to the archive.  If the target is an executable, the
target is run with the dropped objects as arguments. Otherwise, a compare is
performed.

Context menus are used for other manipulations.  To get a context menu, place
the mouse pointer over the object to manipulate and click mouse button 2
(press/release).  A popup menu appears with options applicable to the object
(again, if the object is highlighted the command will operate on all
highlighted objects).   If you request a context menu over a blank area of the
container you'll get a popup of commands that affect the entire container (like
views, filter, and so on).  If you're mouseless, F10 gets a popup for the
cursored object, and Shift+F10 gets a popup for the container.

You can also rename an object by clicking its name while holding down the ALT
key, then typing the new name, just as you change the title of a WPS object,
except that FM/2 provides you with the full pathname of the object so that you
can also move the object between directories on the same drive as you rename it
(for example, you can change C:\FILE to C:\ADIR\FILE).  This is known as Direct
Editing.

All of the above work pretty much the way they work under the WPS itself.
Again, the OS/2 tutorial will get you started if you're a complete novice. If
you're comfortable with OS/2's WPS, you already know how to use FM/2 to a great
extent.

The standard pulldown menus just under the title bar provide access to general
configuration options, some utilities, allow you to split the directory
container to look into two different directories, toggle the Toolbar off and
on, and call up the Collector (a temporary holding place for objects and a
seek-and-scan facility combined).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1. Copy-dropping onto file objects ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog allows you to select an action to perform on/with the target file
object using the dropped objects.

Append causes dropped file objects to be appended to the target.

Pipe causes a command line to be executed for each dropped file object of the
form:
<Target> | <dropped>

Redirect causes a command line to be executed for each dropped file of the
form:
<Target> < <dropped>

Set Icon causes FM/2 to attempt to set the icon of the target to the first
dropped object.  The dropped object should be an icon file.

Exec causes FM/2 to attempt to execute the target with the dropped files as
arguments.  You get to edit the command line first.

Compare causes FM/2 to compare each dropped object to the target.

Only objects selected in the listbox showing dropped objects are used, so you
can deselect some of them if desired.  The listbox uses OS/2's extended
selection technique.  Use the CTRL key modifier to make the listbox use the
multiple selection techinique.  (Extended selection uses dragging, multiple
uses point-and-click)


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2. Link-dropping onto directory objects ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog allows you to select an action to perform on/with the dropped
objects.

Wildcard Copy lets you perform the equivalent to "COPY <dropped file> <target
path\mask>" (an example might be "COPY myfile.txt *.bak") for each of the
dropped files.  When this option is chosen you must fill in a simple mask (no
multiple masks separated by colons, no paths) in the Mask: entry field.

Wildcard Move is like Wildcard Copy except that a move, not a copy, is
performed.

Set Icon causes FM/2 to attempt to set the icon of the target directory to the
first dropped object.  The dropped object should be an icon file.

Compare causes FM/2 to compare each dropped object to the target directory.
The exact behavior here relies on the behavior of the program you use to make
compares.

Only objects selected in the listbox showing dropped objects are used, so you
can deselect some of them if desired.  The listbox uses OS/2's extended
selection technique.  Use the CTRL key modifier to make the listbox use the
multiple selection techinique.  (Extended selection uses dragging, multiple
uses point-and-click)


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3. Utilities ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

FM/2 offers several utilities to make your life a little easier:

Undelete Files
Kill Processes
Instant Batch File
Command Line
INI Viewer
Internal Viewer/Editor Switchlist
Save Applications
Minimize All Applications
Restore All Applications
Massexit FM/2
Shutdown OS/2


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.1. Undelete Files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This leads to a dialog that interfaces with UNDELETE.COM to allow you to
undelete files.  The drive that will be operated on is determined by the
highlighted object in the directory tree.  This dialog filters out files that
already exist on the disk.

You can always go directly to UNDELETE.COM if you have the need for more
control.  This is provided only for convenience.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.2. Kill Processes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This leads to a dialog that allows you to kill most renegade processes. If you
run into a window that just won't close, or one that hides itself but doesn't
quite go away, this may let you kill the hung process.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.3. Instant Batch File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This leads to a dialog that lets you quickly hack together a batch (command)
file and run it (the currently highlighted tree directory will be its default
directory).  The command file isn't saved; think of it as an "extended command
line" which allows you to enter more than one line at a time (for instance,
when several tests must be made).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.4. Command Line ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This brings up a windowed OS/2 command line.  F9 is the accelerator key for
this command.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.5. INI Viewer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

INI files are a form of data file that OS/2 provides to applications and
utilizes itself.  This viewer dialog allows you to take a peek inside them.

Two special INIs are used by the system.  They are the User INI (usually
OS2.INI) and the System INI (usually OS2SYS.INI).  Both are usually located in
the \OS2 directory of your boot drive.

Applications normally use private INI files named after the application. For
example, FM/2's INI is FM2.INI and its executable is FM2.EXE.

A record in an INI is composed of three parts:  An application name, a keyname,
and data.  This three-part format is represented in the dialog by three
listboxes.  When you choose an application name and a keyname, you see the data
associated with them.

This dialog allows you to delete an application name (DelApp) from an INI
(deleting all keynames and data associated with it), or to delete individual
keynames (DelKey), deleting the data associated with them.

The User button loads the user INI (usually OS2.INI) and the System button
loads the system INI (usually OS2SYS.INI).  The Other... button allows you to
pick an INI file to load.  The Refresh button will refresh the contents of the
listboxes from the INI file on disk; handy if a background process might modify
it.

This dialog is reached via the Utilities pulldown menu, or by selecting
(double-clicking) an INI file in a directory window.  This latter behavior can
be changed by specifying an association for *.INI under Config->Edit
Associations.  You may wish to do this, as FM/2's INI Viewer isn't meant to be
the sort of full-featured dedicated INI maintenance application that, for
example, INIMAINT is.  You can alternatively specify a Command under
Config->Edit Commands to run a more powerful INI editor against selected files
as desired, using this internal viewer for browsing.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.5.1. Adding an INI record ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To add an INI record, fill in the three entry fields on the screen. The appname
and keyname pair, together, should form a unique ID, or you'll end up replacing
existing data rather than adding new data.  Then click Okay.  Click Cancel to
abort.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.6. Save Applications ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Broadcasts a WM_SAVEAPPLICATION message to all frame windows.  This usually
causes PM programs to save their current status.  This command is meant mainly
for use when FM/2 is being run as a WPS replacement.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.7. Minimize All Applications ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Broadcasts a WM_SYSCOMMAND/SC_MINIMIZE message to all frame windows. This
usually causes programs to minimize themselves.  FM/2 itself will minimize then
restore itself.  This command is meant mainly for use when FM/2 is being run as
a WPS replacement.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.8. Restore All Applications ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Broadcasts a WM_SYSCOMMAND/SC_RESTORE message to all frame windows. This
usually causes programs to restore themselves.  This command is meant mainly
for use when FM/2 is being run as a WPS replacement.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.9. Massexit FM/2 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Normally you'll exit FM/2 by double-clicking the System Menu icon.  However, if
you have several FM/2 main windows open, this will only close one window at a
time.  To exit FM/2 completely in this case you can use this command (or close
FM/2 from OS/2's switchlist). There is no confirmation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3.10. Shutdown OS/2 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you're running FM/2 as a WPS replacement, this option appears instead of the
Massexit FM/2 option.  This command shuts down OS/2 just as does selecting
Shutdown from the Desktop when the WPS is running, including confirmations.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4. Config ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

FM/2 can be configured as you like it using the commands under this submenu.
It is highly recommended that you step through the items in this submenu when
you first begin to use FM/2, both to familiarize yourself with the available
configuration options and to make FM/2 work the way you like it to work.

This submenu affects general FM/2 behavior.  Each container has its own
configuration menu that allows you to set the type of view, filtering, font,
and so on.  To get the popup menu that controls the container's appearance,
request a context menu by pressing mouse button two (usually the right mouse
button) while the pointer is over an empty area of the container, or press
CTRL-F10 (^F10).

To simplify things for people using FM/2 for the first time, the Config
pulldown menu contains a submenu called Quick Configs.  You can select one of
four different preset configurations from this menu. You'll doubtless want to
do further tweaking to get things just the way you like them, but it should get
you well on the way.  It's also a decent way to see a few of the many faces
FM/2 can present.

External Programs/Paths
Associations
Commands
Edit Archiver Data
Object Container
Printer
Sorting Objects
Toolbar Buttons
Toggles


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.1. External Programs/Paths ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog allows you to set the generic external programs that FM/2 uses to
view files, edit files, compare files and scan archives for viruses.

Fill in the entry fields and click Okay when done.  Click Cancel to exit
without saving your changes.

FM/2 uses an internal MLE viewer/editor if you have no viewer or editor
configured here.  It's recommended that you fill these fields in with whatever
viewer and editor you like rather than use the internal.

There's one additional field here labeled "ExtrDir:".  This field, if anything
is in it, gives the default directory in which to place extracted files.
Otherwise, FM/2 assumes you want to place extracted files into the same
directory in which the archive resides (though it'll let you override
manually).

Examples:

Editor:  "EPM.EXE %a"
or    "Q.EXE %a"
or    "E.EXE %a"
Viewer:  "LSTPM.EXE %a"
or    "LIST2.EXE %a"
Compare: "COMP.COM %a"
Virus:  "OS2SCAN.EXE %p /SUB /A"

The following replaceable "metastrings" can be used in command lines:

%$  drive letter
%a  full pathnames
%c  command processor specified in %COMSPEC%
%f  filenames, no paths
%e  extensions
%p  path (d:\directory)
%%  a percent sign


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.2. Associations ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Associations are programs that are run when files matching specified filemasks
(and optional file signatures) are selected (double-clicked).

You can use this facility to cause editors specific to different datafile types
to start when the datafile is selected.  For instance, if you associate "*.ICO"
with "ICONEDIT.EXE %a" the icon editor will be started with the selected icon
file when you double-click an icon.

Signatures provide a mechanism to further test a matching file to determine
that it is the proper type.  For example, all OS/2 .INF (information) files
have the string "HSP" at position 0 of the file. By using signature "HSP" at
offset 0 for the filemask "*.INF" and assigning the commandline "VIEW.EXE %a"
to the association, any OS/2 .INF file will be read using VIEW when selected,
but non-OS/2 files that have an .INF extension will not match this association.

To add an association, fill in the entry fields and set the radio buttons and
checkboxes that control session type as desired (these are explained in more
detail in the help for Editing Commandline except for Prompt, which causes a
dialog to appear that allows editing the command line before it is run), then
click Add..  To delete an association, select it in the listbox, then click
Del.  To change an association, delete it, edit the entry fields, radio buttons
and checkboxes, then add it.

The following replaceable "metastrings" can be used in command lines:

%$  drive letter
%a  full pathnames
%c  command processor specified in %COMSPEC%
%f  filenames, no paths
%e  extensions
%p  path (d:\directory)
%%  a percent sign


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.3. Commands ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Commands are programs that can be run on selected objects by picking the
programs by an assigned title from a dynamically built submenu of a popup
context menu.

When commands are displayed in the submenu, visual queues are given as to the
behavior of a given command.  Commands that are checked will run once for each
selected file.  Commands that are framed will prompt the user to edit and
accept the command line before running.

FM/2 provides accelerator keys for the first twenty commands in the submenu.
The accelerators are listed beside the command's title for reference.  Note
this provides a "macro key" capability.

This dialog allows you to edit the commands that are available in the submenu.
To add a command, fill in the entry fields and set the radio buttons and
checkboxes that control session type as desired (these are explained in more
detail in the help for Editing Commandline except for Each, which means that
the command will be run once for each selected file, and Prompt, which means
that the command will display a dialog that allows the user to edit the command
line before running), then click Add..  To delete a command, select it in the
listbox, then click Del.  To change a command, delete it, edit the entry
fields, radio buttons and checkboxes, then add it.

The following "metastrings" can be used in command lines:

%$  drive letter
%a  full pathnames
%c  command processor specified in %COMSPEC%
%f  filenames, no paths
%e  extensions
%p  path (d:\directory)
%%  a percent sign


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.4. Object Container ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This command pops up a dialog box that lets you enter the name of the container
to hold objects that FM/2 creates.  By default it is <WP_DESKTOP>. You can
change this to some other object id or a full pathname.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.5. Printer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This command pops up a dialog box that lets you enter the name of the device to
which FM/2 will print text files.  By default it is LPT1.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.6. Sorting Objects ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

FM/2 allows you to control how objects are sorted based on several criteria.
You can also tell FM/2 to always display directories ahead of or behind files.
^S goes straight to this submenu.

Note that Last access date and Creation date are only meaningful for HPFS file
systems; FAT file systems do not track this information.

The difference between Pathname and Filename is only apparent in the Collector.
With the former, the entire pathname of the object is used to sort.  With the
latter, only the filename portion is used to sort.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.7. Toolbar Buttons ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Toolbar buttons submenu lets you turn toolbar buttons on and off, so you
can get rid of the buttons you don't want/use.  ^T goes straight to this
submenu.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4.8. Toggles ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The menu items under the Toggles submenu are on/off switches.  The items are
checked if they are on.  ^t goes straight to this submenu.

Confirm delete controls whether FM/2 will ask you to confirm the deletion of
files (deleting directories always requires confirmation).  It is recommended
that you leave this option on and use the And quit asking checkbox in the
Deletion confirmation dialog instead to prevent accidents.

Forced delete controls how FM/2 deletes files.  If this is checked, deleted
files will not be undeleteable.

Uppercase names and Lowercase names control how FM/2 pretreats filenames before
inserting them into the container.  The default is not to change the case of
the filenames at all.  Changing these toggles will have an effect on the next
rescan.

The All objects shadows toggle controls how FM/2 acts when you select Shadow
from a popup context menu.  If this is on, objects are always created as
shadows.  If not, programs, icons, bitmaps and datafiles are created as the
appropriate WPS objects (objects representing directories are always created as
shadows for obvious reasons).

If Deselect after command is on, highlighted objects in the container are
unhighlighted after you perform some command on them.

Use PMChkDsk/PMFormat causes FM/2 to use PMCHKDSK.EXE instead of CHKDSK.COM
when checking a drive on a request initiated by a drive's context menu, and
PMFORMAT.EXE instead of FORMAT.COM when formatting a drive on a request
initiated by a drive's context menu.  These PM*.EXE programs are the same
programs executed by WPS Drive Objects.

The Verify disk writes toggle turns system-level write verification on and off.
This is like typing VERIFY ON or VERIFY OFF at a command line.

If Drag real icons is set, drag operations use some of the icons shown in the
container when dragging.  If not, drag operations use default icons, which
slightly speeds up dragging when many objects are being manipulated (but it's
not as pretty).  If only one item is being dragged, this toggle has no effect;
the icon shown in the container is used.

If you use views that don't have icons, it can be difficult to tell at a glance
what's a subdirectory and what's a file.  Checking Put \ in front of dirs
causes FM/2 to display a backslash before the name of directories to make this
identification easier.  A better solution is to use Name view and mini icons;
it's a GUI, and the "G" stands for "graphical."

Checking Default drag action Copy reverses the normal behavior of drag and drop
operations in FM/2.  Usually, dragging without holding down modifier keys
results in a default Move action, and holding down the CTRL key changes that to
a Copy.  With this checked, the default action is Copy, and holding down the
Shift key changes the action to a Move.

Normally FM/2 updates the container as things change; for instance, if you're
deleting several files, the container is updated after each file is deleted.
If you uncheck Immediate updates, FM/2 updates the container after an atomic
action completes (i.e. after all files deleted by one operation have been
deleted).  This speeds up processing but allows the container to be temporarily
"out of synch" with the real state of affairs.

If Emphasis on drag/popup is checked, FM/2 puts "in use" emphasis (hash lines)
on the icons of objects which are involved in a drag and drop operation, and
"selected" emphasis (box with rounded corners) on objects involved in popup
menu operations as visual feedback.

Use palettes, if checked, causes FM/2 to call up the WPS color and font
palettes when you request to change colors or fonts. Otherwise, internal
dialogs are used.  If running FM/2 as a WPS replacement, internal dialogs are
always used.

Background rescans, if checked, causes FM/2 to rescan the current directory
about once every minute.  This rescan isn't as efficient as the one you can
generate yourself, so I recommend that you not use this unless you have some
special need.  This is the darndest thing, but it's new; if you encounter
problems with it, disable it and let me know exactly what happened.

If Load Subjects is checked, FM/2 loads object descriptions from their standard
WPS .SUBJECT EAs during scans.  If you change the state of this toggle, you'll
need to rescan to get the change to show up in FM/2's containers.  Note that
only the Details view shows Subjects. Subjects may be direct-edited when
showing in the container.  You can also pick Subject from a context menu,
whether Subjects are being loaded during scans or not, to view and optionally
change the object description.

If Don't load file icons and/or Don't load directory icons are checked, FM/2
won't load the icons of objects from the file system but instead uses defaults.
Although this can speed up scanning, it makes for boring containers.  This is
PM, folks, enjoy the bells and whistles!  For those of you wondering about wild
Dirman/2 claims, disable icon loading and your scans will be every bit as
fractionally faster as Dirman/2 (and you still get a full tree and have the
bells and whistles available on demand :-).

The External toolbox option modifies the meaning of the Toolbar menu command.
When this is checked, clicking on Toolbar causes a separate window to be
created containing the toolbar buttons.  This provides emulation of the older
FM program interface.

Redundant menus turns on Files and Views menu items.  These correspond to
setting the focus to the appropriate container and then using the F10 and sF10
accelerators; they just bring up context menus.  This provides emulation of the
older FM program interface.

Sort Tree controls whether the tree container is sorted.

Wider Tree can be turned on to make the tree container a little wider.

Hidden Tree can be turned on to hide the tree container from view, allowing the
directory container(s) to fill the window. Since the tree's a very convenient
place to drag files, and several commands key off the currently highlighted
tree object or are available only via Tree context menus, I wouldn't recommend
it.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5. Split ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When this command is selected, FM/2 "splits" the directory container (actually
it reduces the directory container so that it takes up only half the window and
opens another).  The new container looks into the drive/directory currently
selected in the tree container.

When the view is split, this command changes its name to "Unsplit" and
selecting it again reverses the process.

Note that it's not necessary to split the directory container in order to have
a target for drag and drop operations; you can drag directly to directories in
the tree container.

The split container has more select options than the "normal" directory
container.  These options allow you to select files in the split container
based on files in the other directory.  There's also a Compare Directories
option that leads to a dialog that breaks down the directories for easy visual
comparison.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6. Toolbar ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The toolbar is a collection of graphical buttons that invoke some of the
commands in the pulldown or popup menus.  Passing the mouse pointer over the
buttons displays brief help for the button on the titlebar.

Some of the buttons will allow objects to be dragged onto them; for example,
you can drag objects onto the trashcan to delete them.  Note that the hotspot
of the mouse pointer itself should be over the button before releasing, not the
icon being dragged (icons are slightly offset from the mouse pointer to give
better target visibility).  Target emphasis is provided in the form of a black
outline around the button, and the arrow pointer turns into a hand when above a
toolbox icon.

The first time this command is selected, the toolbar appears.  Selecting it
again causes the toolbar to vanish.

You can control which buttons are shown from the Toolbar buttons submenu of the
Config menu on the FM/2 main window.

If the External Toolbox Toggle is checked, this command modifies its meaning
and calls up a separate window containing the toolbar buttons.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.7. Collector ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Collector is a temporary place to hold objects that you want to manipualate
later; it allows you to temporarily group objects regardless of where they're
physically stored in the file system.  No physical (disk) storage is used; the
Collector just holds the objects (something like WPS shadows) until you're
ready to do something with them.  Note that objects in the Collector, unlike
objects in main tree and directory containers, show their full pathnames.

You can drag file system objects from and to the Collector.  Be careful where
you drop the objects; directories and files already in the Collector are
"targets." If you drop on a directory, the files are moved or copied to the
directory, not into the Collector.

The Collector allows you to manipulate the files it contains just as you would
in a main tree or directory window.  Popup menus are available just as they are
in a main window.  The popup for the collector container obtained over
container whitespace allows clearing the container and collecting files from
the clipboard (a good way to import a selection from some other program that
might save a list of files, one file per line).

Additionally, the pulldown menu gives you access to a Seek and scan function.
This leads to a dialog that lets you search for and Collect files based on
filemasks and text content.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.7.1. Seek and scan ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog allows you to search for files (by filemasks and, optionally, text
within the files) and Collectsthe files found.

In the Filemasks entry field you can enter one or several filemasks.  To enter
multiple masks, separate them with semi-colons. Example: "C:\*;D:\*.TXT".

In the Search text entry field you can enter text that must be found for the
file to match.  All files matching the filemask(s) are searched for this text.
If no text is entered, a simple file find is performed.

Simple regular expressions are supported.  These can be briefly summarized:

  '*'        matches any string
  '?'        matches any single character
  '['XYZ']'  matches any of X, Y or Z
  ' '        matches 0 or more whitespace characters
  C          matches C

The Include Subdirs checkbox controls whether the search extends into
subdirectories.  If the box is checked, subdirectories are searched.

The Absolute checkbox disables regular expressions in the Search text entry
field.

The Case Senseitive checkbox, if checked, makes text searches case sensitive.
Otherwise they are not ('c' matches 'C' and 'c').

The Say files as found checkbox tells FM/2 to display the filenames it finds
based on the filemasks as it encounters them, if checked.

The Search files checkbox, when checked, tells FM/2 to look inside files for
the text in the Search text entry field.  This has no effect if no search text
was entered.

The Search EAs checkbox, when checked, tells FM/2 to look at the text EAs of
files for the text in the Search text entry field.  This has no effect if no
search text was entered.

The AllHDs button prompts you for a single simple filemask, then builds a
Filemasks string that will search all hard drives for that mask.

Click Okay when ready to search, or Cancel to exit without searching.

Quicky instructions:  type a mask into the Filemasks entry field (for example,
"C:\\*.BAK") and press [Enter].


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Context menus ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Context menus are used extensively in FM/2, just as they are in the WPS.

Context menus are requested by placing the mouse pointer over a desired object
in a container (or over container whitespace) and clicking mouse button two
(usually the right button).

Commands that affect the container as a whole are found in context menus
requested over whitespace (any empty area of the container).  Commands that
affect the objects within the container are requested over the object of
interest.  If an object is highlighted when a context menu is requested, the
commands will usually affect all highlighted objects; otherwise, any commands
will affect only the object over which the menu was requested.

When a menu command leads to a dialog, the command name is followed by dots
(i.e. "Attribs...").  If the command sometimes leads to a dialog, the command
is followed by dots in parentheses (i.e. "Shadow(...)").  In cases where
commands have accelerator key equivelants, the accelerator key is listed after
the command (i.e. "View   ^v", where ^ indicates that the CTRL key must be
pressed with the 'v' key, or "Archive...  ^A" which indicates that both the
CTRL and SHIFT keys must be pressed with the 'a' key).

Context menu commands affecting objects:
(Note that not all commands are available for all objects on all drives)

Attribs  leads to a dialog that allows changing an object's file attributes
(System, Hidden, Readonly, Archived), date/time and icon.

Rename allows you to rename objects.  You are notified of conflicts as they
occur.  An easier method for renaming one object is to point at its text, hold
down the ALT key, and click mouse button one.

Delete deletes objects.

View views objects through the configured viewer.

Edit edits objects with the configured editor.

Exec executes (runs) objects.  Obviously, satisfactory results will only be
obtained with executable or batch/command files.

Print prints text files.  It'd be a good idea to have a printer to which to
print, and have configured it first, before trying to use this.  If using the
standard WPS, be sure you have a printer object configured for the device
you've told FM/2 to use, or you may wind up with FM/2's printing thread blocked
for eternity awaiting access to a nonexistent or inaccessible device.
Actually, if using the standard WPS, it's recommended that you simply drag
files to the printer object and drop them instead of using this command.

Hide temporarily hides objects in the container.  This is purely an appearance
and convenience thing; nothing happens to the file/directory represented by the
object.

Move and Copy move or copy objects.  Drag and drop is recommended over using
the menu commands for moving and copying. When using the menu commands, the
Walk Drives dialog appears to allow you to select a target.

The Command submenu contains any commands that you've configured using the Edit
Commands dialog.  Commands are programs that are run on the selected object(s).

Shadow builds WPS objects on your desktop for selected object(s).

The Open submenu allows you to open an object's Settings notebook, open
directories as WPS Folders, and open a new FM/2 main window for directories.

Archive allows you to build an archive containing the selected object(s).

Extract allows you to extract files from selected archives.

Save to clipboard allows you to save selected objects to the clipboard as a
text list, one per line.  This is a good way to transfer selections of files to
other programs; for instance, you might copy a list of files to the clipboard
and feed it to a terminal program to send the files over a modem or network.

Extended Attributess allows you to view an object's extended attributes (EAs)
and to edit and add text attributes.

Subject allows you to give an object a description.  This makes use of the same
EA (.SUBJECT) that the WPS uses for object descriptions.

Set System Pointer appears only for .ICO and .PTR files. This allows you to
change a system pointer to the icon file selected. You can create .ICO and .PTR
files using the OS/2-provided ICONEDIT.EXE.

Reset System Pointer appears only for .ICO and .PTR files. This allows you to
reset a system pointer to the OS/2 default.

Context menu commands affecting containers as a whole:

Icon switches the container to Icon view; the object's name appears below its
icon.

Name switches the container to Name view; the object's name appears beside its
icon.

Text switches the container to Text view.  Text view is the fastest view for a
container to maintain, but provides the least information on the objects it
contains.

Details switches the container to Details view.  Details view shows a great
deal of information on the objects it contains, including file sizes, dates,
and times, but it is the slowest view for a container to maintain.

Details Titles is a toggle controlling whether column titles will be displayed
when the container is in Details view.

Details Icons determines whether icons are shown in Details view.  Rather than
turning the icons off, consider using Mini Icons.

Mini Icons is a toggle controlling whether icons are shown full size or in
miniature in views that show icons.

Details Subjects controls whether object descriptions are shown in containers.
See also the Toggle Load Subjects.

Change font leads to a dialog that lets you select a new font for a container
(if you're running FM/2 as a WPS replacement; otherwise, you get the WPS' Font
Palette object if you have the Use palettes toggle on).

Change colors leads to a dialog that lets you set new colors for a container
(if you're running FM/2 as a WPS replacement; otherwise, you get the WPS' Color
Palette object if you have the Use palettes toggle on).

Rescan rescans the directory associated with a container, or the drive from the
current object down in a tree container.  FM/2 tries very hard to keep all its
windows up to date, but things outside FM/2 can cause changes that FM/2 cannot
know about automatically.  This command will ensure that your display is
current.

Resort resorts items in a container.

Filter leads to a dialog that lets you set filemasks and attributes for objects
to include in the container's display.

Parent moves directory containers to the previous (parent) directory.

Pick Directory leads to a dialog that allows you to pick from a list of
recently used directories.  This can be a real timesaver.

Previous Directory returns the container to the last directory. This is sort of
like a one-step "undo."  When you close FM/2, its containers remember what
directory they were in and it becomes the "previous" directory.

The Select submenu gives you many ways to highlight objects in a container.
This lets you quickly build sophisticated selection sets of objects upon which
you can perform tasks.  The split view container has some additional options
that let you select and deselect files based on the relationship between the
files in the split container and those in the other directory container.

Compare Directories is available only in the split view container.  It leads to
a dialog that gives a visual comparison of the files in the two directories.

Context menu commands specific to the tree container:

Info displays information about the selected drive.  This is available only in
context menus requested on drives.

Check Disk runs CHKDSK.COM or PMCHKDSK.EXE (as configured) on the selected
drive.  This tests the drive and can correct some deficiencies.  This is
available only in context menus requested on drives.

Format Disk runs FORMAT.COM on the selected drive after passing through a
dialog (so relax, you have time to change your mind). Formatting a disk will
destroy any information already on the disk. This is available only in context
menus requested on drives.

Expand expands the tree from the point where the context menu was requested to
the bottom of the branch.

Collapse collapses the tree from the point where the context menu was requested
to the bottom of the branch.

Make Directory allows you to create new directories.  The name of the directory
where you requested the context menu is filled in as a starting point for
convenience.  Directories may be created many levels deep in one pass.

Totals brings up a dialog showing how many bytes are in the selected directory
and its subdirectories.

Partitions calls up FDISKPM.EXE to allow you to modify the partitions on your
hard drive.  Extreme caution should be exercised; read the help!


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. Drive Info ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

FM/2 will show you information about the drive from which you chose the Info
command in a context menu.

For writeable drives, you can change the drive's label here by changing the
text in the entry field and clicking Okay.

The dialog box shows you the type of file system, volume label, total and
available sizes of the drive (megabytes, kilobytes and units), tells you how
the drive's resources are parceled into units, gives the drive's serial number
and some flags.  These flags indicate special properties about the drive, like
Removable (the drive allows its media to be removed and changed) or Not
Writeable (the drive does not allow changes to be written to it).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. Filter container ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog allows you to filter what's shown in a container.  A filemask or
filemasks can be used to filter, and so can file attributes (except for archive
listings where attributes are not applicable).

As you enter filemasks they're saved for later redisplay in this dialog's
listbox.  If a filemask desired is in the listbox you can use it by selecting
it (double-clicking it).

Multiple filemasks can be used by separating the masks with semi-colons.

"No filemask" can be quickly entered by just clicking the Okay button, or "*"
can be used.

Wildcard matching is not case-sensitive.

If a filename does not have a period, an implicit one is automatically appended
to the end during matching operations.

Some characters have the following special meaning:

 ?  A question mark matches one character, unless what it would match is a
period, slash or backslash, in which case it matches no characters.

 *  An asterisk matches characters from the source to the target until it finds
a filename character that matches the non-wild character following it in the
filemask, or a period, slash, backslash or the end of the filename and/or
filemask.

Therefore, "*.f?o" matches "anything.foo" but not "anything.foe".

Up to 24 masks may be "cascaded" by separation with semicolons. When specifying
multiple filemasks, you can use '\' as the first character of a mask to mean
_don't_ match this filespec.  Exclusions should usually be listed before
inclusions to attain the desired effect.

Filemask examples:

/*.obj;/*.res;*  (Show all but *.obj and *.res files)
*.c;*.h          (Show only C source and header files)
*.ico            (Show only icon files)
*                (Show everything)

A reminder:  CD-ROM files are marked ReadOnly and will not appear in your
containers unless you have the ReadOnly attribute on (checked).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. Pick from recently used directories ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 This dialog allows you to pick from recently used directories.  As you  move
between drives and directories, FM/2 "remembers" where you've  wandered and
saves the last 100 paths in the listbox in this dialog.  You can then recall a
directory you use frequently with fewer picks.

 The Remove button takes the currently highlighted directory  out of the
listbox.  It does not touch the directory on your hard  drive. If the listbox
gets too full for you taste you can prune  seldom-used directories from it
using this button.

 Highlight the directory you want, then click Okay (or  double-click the
directory in the listbox).  Click Cancel if  you change your mind.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.4. Attributes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Attributes dialog allows you to change file attributes (System, Hidden,
Archived, Readonly), date and time, and the icon of a file or directory.

Attributes are set by checking or unchecking checkboxes labeled with the
appropriate attribute name.

The date and time are changed by clicking the arrows of the spin buttons or
entering numbers directly into the entry fields of the spin buttons. Two
pushbuttons, Now and Then, also affect the time and date; Now sets the
date/time to the current date and time, Then restores the old date/time.

To set a new icon, drag an icon file onto the icon at the top of the dialog.
FM/2 immediately attempts to set the new icon, and any change is shown at once.

Attributes and date/time are not changed until Okay is clicked. Note that the
OS/2 API used, DosSetPathInfo, must be able to obtain read/write access to the
file or subdirectory in order to set its attributes.  This is not possible with
subdirectores or files already opened (by another process) with read or write
denied.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.5. Shadow ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

FM/2 has the ability to create objects on your WPS desktop (or in other WPS
folders).  To create objects, select objects in an FM/2 window, then select
Shadow from a context menu.

If only one object is being created, the object is placed directly on the
desktop (or the folder specified by the Object Container string).  If more than
one object is being created, FM/2 first prompts you for the name of a folder.
This folder is then created on the desktop and the objects are placed inside
that folder. You can move the objects elsewhere after that.

The All objects shadows Toggle modifies how this command works.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.6. Compare Directories ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Compare Directories dialog shows you a comparison breakdown of the two
directories currently in the main FM/2 window's split view containers.  You can
highlight files here and Collect them for later processing.

The dialog presents two containers side-by-side.  Vertical scrolling of the
containers is synched so that scrolling one scrolls both.  The files are listed
so that they are in alphabetical order, with gaps in the containers where a
file exists in one but not the other.  This provides easy, at-a-glance
comparison of the directories' contents.

Several selection/deselection techniques are available via the first row of
pushbuttons to enable you to select files based on their comparison. The
pushbuttons operate on both containers (to operate on only one directory, use
the extended selection commands in the split container on a main FM/2 window
instead).  You can also select and deselect files in the containers manually
with the mouse and/or keyboard.  Hint:  mouse selection works slightly
differently when you hold down the CTRL key while clicking.

It is possible to change the directory of a container by direct editing of the
container title, and to drag files from the containers.

This dialog is reached by selecting "Compare Directories" from an FM/2 main
window's split view directory context menu, or by link-dropping one or more
directory objects onto another directory object and selecting the default
Compare option from the resultant dialog.

Suggestions:

Position the dialog so that FM/2's toolbox is showing.  Drag files to the
toolbox to edit, delete, etc.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.7. Extract from archives ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 To extract from an archive, select the archive(s), then select  Extract from a
context menu.

 FM/2 presents you with a dialog that allows you to select the method of
extraction, add masks for files to extract, tweak the command line for  exotic
settings, and select the extraction directory (the directory to  which the
files will be extracted.

 Click Okay to begin extracting from the archive, or  Cancel if you change your
mind.

 You can also extract files from the archive in the Archive Listing window
using that window's menus.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.8. Build an archive ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 To build an archive, select some files, then select Archive  from a context
menu.  You can add files to an existing archive by  link-dragging them onto the
archive object, or dragging them onto an  Archive Listing window.

 FM/2 will ask you for the type of the archive by presenting you with a
listbox from which to pick an archiver.  After that, another dialog  appears to
let you modify how the archive will be created.  Additional  masks may be
entered, the archiver command line tweaked, and so forth.  Click Okay to create
the archive, or Cancel if  you change your mind.

 Note that the archive name may be an existing archive, in which case  it's
modified by adding the new files.  If some of the files are  already in the
archive, they're replaced.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.9. Changing Colors ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog allows you to change the colors of a container.

The sliders control the red, green and blue components of the various colors
represented by the radio buttons.  These sliders work like the color sliders in
ICONEDIT.EXE.  As you move the sliders, the window to the right of them changes
to show how the new settings look.

The Apply button applies the current colors to the container. The Reset button
resets the container and dialog to the default colors.

Feel free to play; you can always reset the container to its original state
with the Reset button, and you can't break anything.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.10. Extended Attributes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog allows you to view and edit text Extended Attributes (EAs) for an
object.  Binary EAs may be viewed but not edited.

There are three types of EAs that FM/2 can view and edit (the only three types
that have meaning to humans):

ASCII EAs are shown in an entry field.

Multi-value single-type EAs are shown in an MLE control if the type is text.
Each line represents one 'record' of the EA.

Multi-value mult-type EAs are also shown in an MLE control if all types are
text.  Each line represents one 'record' of the EA.

In general, if you don't know the purpose of an EA you shouldn't change it.  In
particular, EA names beginning with a period (i.e. .TYPE), as these EAs are
used by the WPS.  An exception is the .SUBJECT EA, for which FM/2 provides a
special context menu item.  This EA is used to store a simple text description
of an object.  FM/2's details views can show this description and allow you to
direct-edit it.

To view a particular EA, select it in the listbox at the top of the dialog. The
EA type will be shown on a text field toward the bottom of the dialog, and if
it's a human-editable type the appropriate control will appear to display it;
otherwise, a hex dump is shown in a listbox. If you edit the EA, a Change
button can be clicked to save your changes. You can delete EAs, but do so with
extreme caution and at your own risk. Otherwise, click Okay when done. Clicking
Cancel will abort any further dialogs that might be pending from a single
context menu command.

See EAUTIL in OS/2's Command Reference for more information on EAs and how to
manipulate them.  Note that this dialog is not meant to be a full-featured
super-powerful EA editor.  You can use Config->Edit Commands to add such an
external EA editor to a list of commands that you can run on selected files, if
desired.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.10.1. Adding an Extended Attribute ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To add an extended attribute (EA), enter its name in the top entry field, then
select a type for it from the radio buttons.  Click Okay to create it, Cancel
to abort.

OS/2 defines several Standard Extended Attributes (SEAs):

.ASSOCTABLE is a multi-value multi-type (MVMT) EA.  FM/2 will not create one of
these.

.CLASSINFO is a binary attribute.  FM/2 will not create one of these.

.ICON is an icon attribute.  FM/2 will not create one of these.

.CODEPAGE is an attribute (don't know the type).  FM/2 won't make one.

.TYPE is an MVMT attribute (see a file object's Type Settings page).

.SUBJECT is an ASCII attribute (see a file object's File page). This describes
the object.  FM/2 makes use of these for you.

.COMMENTS is an MVMT attribute (see a file object's third File page).

.KEYPHRASES is an MVMT attribute (see a file object's third File page).  OS/2
documentation incorrectly describes this as an MVST, but the WPS objects create
MVMTs.

.HISTORY is an MVMT attribute (see a file object's third File page).

.LONGNAME is an ASCII attribute that give the full name of a file when stored
on a file system that doesn't support long filenames (like FAT).

.VERSION is an ASCII attribute that gives some sort of version information.

When creating attributes of your own, you should _not_ begin them with a
period.  Try using a convention like "JOES.ATTRIBUTE" (yourname.attribtag) to
make sure it doesn't conflict with the WPS or any apps you may run.

.SUBJECT, .COMMENTS and .KEYPHRASES can be modified, deleted and added by the
user without problem.  The other standard EAs are the domain of apps and the
WPS and should be left alone.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.11. Total size of directories ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog's container contains a breakdown of disk usage for a directory and
its subdirectories.  The container is reached by selecting Totals from a tree
directory's context menu.

The container displays a tree view of a directory and all its subdirectories.
Expand and Collapse buttons allow you to quickly open and close branches of the
tree.  After the container has completely filled, each record displays the
object's name and two numbers in parentheses, as in:

  D:\ADIR (4096k / 32768k)

The first number indicates the total number of kilobytes occupied by the
directory and any files and subdirectories it contains.  The second number
indicates the total number of kilobytes occupied by all subdirectories and
their files and subdirectories.

It is possible for either number to be larger than the other, and possible for
both to be 0.

The totals reflect the size of files and extended attributes.  Due to minimum
allocation units on the disk, more space may be physically allocated than is
accounted for in the totals.  The text field just above the pushbuttons gives
you stats that _do_ take allocation units into account.  Also be aware that
directories containing more than 0 bytes but less than 1024 bytes will be
displayed as containing 1k (1 kilobyte, equal to 1024 bytes) so that you know
that a 0k figure denotes a truly empty directory.

This is a quick way to see where most of your disk space has gone.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.12. System Pointer Manipulation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Set the radio button of the system pointer you want to change.  Then click
Okay.  Click Cancel to abort if you change your mind.

Changes to system pointers are persistent (they stick around even when FM/2 is
no longer running).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Archive Listing ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The archive listing window presents you with a list of the archive's contents.
The menus available here present you with commands which you can perform on
selected files and the archive as a whole, as well as the usual configuration
of the window's appearance.

Besides the container showing the archive contents and a couple of
informational fields above that, there's an entry field at the bottom of the
window that shows the current extract directory.  This is the directory in
which any extracted files will be placed.  (Extraction refers to copying files
from the archive onto your disk as normal files.)  There are two buttons beside
this entry field, one marked with 'Pick' and one marked 'Walk'.  These
represent the same two choices that are under the ExtractDir menu item; Pick
Directory and Walk Directories. To change the extract directory, enter a new
directory into the entry field (if it doesn't already exist you'll get an
option to create it), drag a directory onto the entry field, or select one of
the two buttons or menu items mentioned.  It's a good idea to hit the [Tab] key
after entering a new extract directory into the entry field, since FM/2 doesn't
know you're done typing until you vacate the field.

You can drag files onto the archive container's listing to add them to the
archive, but you cannot drag files from the archive.  OS/2's drag-and-drop
"rendering" mechanism would make this painfully slow for more than one or two
files, as each file is processed individually (imagine extracting each file in
an archive by typing a separate command line for each to get an idea how slow
it would be).  The menu extract items allow optimizing extraction so that only
one "pass" needs to be done (note that Files->Extract must also deal with the
OS/2 command line length restriction of 1024 bytes, so if you want to extract
all the files in a large archive, Archive->Extract All is a superior choice).

You can get a popup menu in the container by pressing button 2.

Following is a discussion of the pull-down menus:

Files Menu

View causes FM/2 to extract the file(s) to a temporary directory and display
it/them.  If, for some reason, the files don't appear when you attempt to view
them, try Testing the archive.

Extract causes FM/2 to extract the selected file(s) to the extract directory.

Extract w/ Dirs causes FM/2 to extract the selected file(s) to the extract
directory in such a way that, if directories have been included with the
filenames, the directories are recreated.

Delete causes FM/2 to delete the selected file(s) from the archive.

Exec causes FM/2 to extract all selected files to a temporary directory and
then runs the cursored file.  If you pick this from a popup menu, that would be
the file under the mouse pointer when you requested the popup.  This allows you
to select DLLs, help files, data files, etc. required to get the application to
run correctly as well as the executable file.

Find causes FM/2 to scan the extract directory for any files matching the names
of the selected files within the archive and Collect them if found.

Virus Scan causes FM/2 to extract the selected files and then run the
configured virus checker.  See the Program Setup menu option.

Hide hides, or filters, selected items.  To recall hidden items, use
Views->Filter.

Select submenu provides you with a variety of tools for selecting files in the
archive.

Archive Menu

Extract All extracts all files from the archive to the extract directory.
Extract All & Exit does the same thing but closes the archive listing window
after starting the extraction.

Extract All w/ Dirs does the same thing including any enclosed directories
(i.e. files are extracted into the directories they were archived "with," if
any, rather than all going into the extract directory). Extract All w/ Dirs &
Exit does the same thing but closes the archive listing window after starting
the extraction.  (Note that if all you want to do to an archive is extract from
it, you can do so without ever opening a contents box; just pull up a context
menu on the archive in an FM/2 main window and select Extract.  This is the
fastest and most efficient method of extracting files from an archive.)

Test tests the archive's integrity.

Info displays some information about the archive.

Rescan rescans the archive; useful if files may have been added to it or
removed from it while FM/2 had it open.

Edit Archiver Data allows you to tweak the information used by FM/2 for the
current archive type.

Edit Any Archiver's Data allows you to tweak the information used by FM/2 for
any archive type.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. Editing Archiver Details ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog box allows you to edit the details of an archiver. Entry boxes are
present for all the twenty one fields represented in ARCHIVER.BB2.

In the event that you attempt to list an archive and FM/2 feels you've probably
bungled the entry in ARCHIVER.BB2, you'll be given an opportunity to use this
dialog to fix the entry.  In this case, you'll see the listbox at the right of
the dialog filled with the listing of the archive that your archiver made.  You
can highlight a line and click the << button next to the Start List or End List
fields to move the line to that entry field (these are the most common
mistakes, and FM/2 cannot find any files if the Start List string is wrong).
You can double-click on a listbox line to have FM/2 "parse" it into the Fld#
text boxes for you, to make it easier to judge field positions for sizes,
dates, and filenames.  The filename field in particular is extremely important.
If it's too high, FM/2 finds no files.  If it's "in range" but wrong, FM/2 gets
the wrong fields for filenames.

You may still need to refer to your archiver's documentation, or run it to get
the help on its command syntax.  FM/2 can't do everything for you, but it holds
your hand as best it can.

Refer to the ARCHIVER.BB2 file that came with FM/2 for additional information
and an example.

When you've completed editing the archiver's details, click Okay.  FM/2 will
ask you if you want to rewrite ARCHIVER.BB2 (be sure you save the original copy
for its complete notes; FM/2 will back it up one version to ARCHIVER.BAK).  If
you don't rewrite ARCHIVER.BB2, changes are good only for the current session
(handy for testing).

You can also get to this dialog box from Select Files' Config submenu.

See also:

Archiver Details Fields


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1.1. Archiver Details Fields ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

ID  This field contains an ID for the archiver; something for human
consumption.  It's a good idea to include the version number of the archiver
for reference.  An example might be "LHArc 2.11".

Add  This field should contain the command that creates and adds files to an
archive.  An example might be "PKZIP.EXE -a". Note that commands should include
the extension so that FM/2 can check them without guessing.  Above this field
is a button labeled "See." If clicked, the program named in this field will be
run (you'll be given the opportunity to add arguments to the command line) in
another window. This lets you check command syntax and archiver version.

Move  This field should contain the command that moves files to the archive
(adds then deletes the file).  An example might be "ARC.EXE mwn".

Extension  This field contains the extension normally associated with files
created by this archiver.  An example might be "ZOO" for files created by the
Zoo archiver.

Extract  This field contains the command that extracts files from the archive.
This command should not delete the files from the archive when it extracts
them, and *must* be present for FM/2 to show you a member of the archive
(commands other than Extract and List may be left blank if necessary).  An
example might be "PKUNZIP.EXE -o".  Note the "-o" option given; this tells
PKUNZIP to automatically overwrite any existing files (FM/2 will check to see
if any of the files exist and warn you if so).  It's important to always
include your archiver's "don't stop for user input" option; some things occur
as detached processes and you can't interact with them; the program would be
hung, which is uncool. Above this field is a button labeled "See." If clicked,
the program named in this field will be run (you'll be given the opportunity to
add arguments to the command line) in another window. This lets you check
command syntax and archiver version.  Note: It may be necessary, in the case of
broken archivers like some UNZIPs, to make this the same as the following
"Extract w/Dirs" field to get viewing of archive members to work.  This is
because some archivers will not extract a file that is stored with paths
without the path when you ask it to do so.

Extract w/Dirs  This field contains the command that extracts files from the
archive and places them into directories embedded in the archive.  An example
might be "LH.EXE x /o /s".

Signature  This field contains the signature for the archive type.  There is
usually a byte or few in a particular place in any archive that indicates that
it is, indeed, an archive of that type.  FM/2 uses these signatures to "sniff
out" which archiver is used to manipulate the archive.  Since these signatures
sometimes contain characters which are "unprintable," you can use \x<hexnum> to
represent any "strange" characters.  A side effect of this is that two
backslashes are required to represent a single backslash ("\\" == "\").

To determine what an archiver's signature is, either ask the archiver's author
or check several different archives of the type for one or more bytes present
in each at the same location, usually near the beginning of the file.

This field must be entered and valid for FM/2 to detect this type of archive
(see also Sig(nature) Pos(ition)).

List  This field contains the command to list the archive's contents.  This
command *must* be present and correct for FM/2 to work properly with this type
of archive.  An example might be "ZOO.EXE v".

Test  This field contains the command to test the archive's integrity.  An
example might be "PKUNZIP.EXE -t".

Add with paths  This field contains the command to add files to the archiver
with their paths (i.e. \FM2\FM2.EXE instead of just FM2.EXE).  This can be
omitted if the archiver doesn't support the command.  An example might be
"ZIP.EXE" (Zip defaults to adding paths).

Move with paths  As above, but moves the files instead of just adding them.  An
example might be "PKZIP -m -P".

Add and recurse  Adds files to the archive, with paths, and recurses into
subdirectories.  An example might be "LH a /s".

Delete  This field contains the command to delete files from the archive.  An
example might be "LH.EXE /o /d".

Sig(nature) Pos(ition)  This field contains a number indicating how many bytes
into the file the signature is located.  If this number is negative, FM/2 looks
from the end of the file instead of the beginning.

F(ile)Name Pos(ition)  This field tells FM/2 which field on the line of an
archive listing is the filename.  Fields are numbered from 0. This field must
be present and correct for FM/2 to get the right filenames from the archive
listing.

To understand what "field on the line of an archive listing" means, think of a
text line as being broken up into tokens, or words, separated by spaces.  These
tokens, or words, are fields.  Therefore,

I like Ike.

contains three fields.  Field 0 is "I", field 1 is "like", and field 3 is
"Ike."

OldS(i)z(e) Pos(ition)  This field tells FM/2 which field on the line of an
archive listing is the old (uncompressed) size of the file.  If this isn't
available or you don't care about it, you can enter a -1 to disable detection
of this field entirely.

NewS(i)z(e) Pos(ition)  This field tells FM/2 which field on the line of an
archive listing is the new (compressed) size of the file. If this isn't
available or you don't care about it, you can enter a -1 to disable detection
of this field entirely.

Date Pos(ition)  This field tells FM/2 which field on the line of an archive
listing is where the time/datestring is.  If this isn't available or you don't
care about it, you can enter a -1 to disable detection of this field entirely.

NumDateF(ie)lds  This field tells FM/2 how many fields comprise the
time/datestring.

Here's an example of an ARC listing (5.12mpl, command "ARC l"; you may need to
widen the help windows for this to look right...):

Name          Length    Date
============  ========  =========    <--this line is start-of-list
MAKEFILE           374  28 Nov 89
QSORT.C          14279  29 Nov 89
QSORT.EXE        24629  29 Nov 89
STUFF.H            371  29 Nov 89
        ====  ========               <--this line is end-of-list
Total      4     39653

Note the filename is in position 0, old length in position 1, and the date
starts in position 2, with 3 parts, and there's no new length field (so it'd be
-1).  Compare that to the archiver entry for ARC 5.12mpl in the "stock"
ARCHIVER.BB2 and you should get a feel for what all those fields mean.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Editing Commandline ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Enter any optional arguments to the program here as you would on the command
line.  Remember that, when passing commands to a command processor such as
CMD.EXE, like DIR, it's CMD.EXE /C DIR, not just CMD.EXE DIR.

Full Screen, Maximized, Minimized, Invisible, Default: control how the program
will be run.  Default is usually in a window with OS/2 controlling the size of
the initial window.  Note that PM programs will always run on the desktop in a
window and programs marked full screen only will always run in a full screen
session.  This corresponds to START /FS, /MAX, /MIN, /I or just START.

Keep when done:  determines whether the window will remain until you close it,
or go away when the command completes.  It's like START /K.  For reasons of
safety (too complex to explain briefly) you aren't allowed to Keep a DOS
session; this flag is ignored for DOS executables.

See also (in the online Command Reference CMDREF.INF):

CMD.EXE
START command


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Resolving filename conflicts ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog is invoked for rename operations as well as to resolve filename
conflicts that arise when you try to move or copy a file into a directory that
already contains a file or directory by the same name.

There are two entry fields at the top of the screen.  The first, showing the
name of the already existing file, is for information only and cannot be
changed.  The second is where you can modify the name of the file that will be
renamed, moved or copied.

Below these entry fields is a text line that may impart some information about
the nature of the conflict.

You will need to adjust the name in the New filename entry field and click
Okay.  Alternatively, for move and copy operations, you may elect to Overwrite
the existing file, and set the check on the And stop asking checkbox to prevent
further confirmations for the atomic action.  If this is one operation of many
started by a single drag-and-drop or context menu selection, you can Skip this
one file or Abort all pending operations; if this is the only or last
operation, both Skip and Abort cancel it.

Hint:  you can use wildcards in the filename (not path) portion of the new
filename.  Doing so makes rename, move and copy commands become wildcard
rename, move and copy commands.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Confirming deletion ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog asks you to confirm that you really meant to delete the file or
directory (the dialog indicates which the current item is).  You can answer Yes
(delete it, and optionally check the And quit asking box to stop further
prompts about files on pending deletes started at the same time, although
directories will always cause prompting), No (skip it) or Cancel (stop all
pending deletes started at the same time, as from one drag/drop or menu
selection).  Forced delete is the same as the Toggle and causes FM/2 to delete
files such that they are not undeletable via the OS/2 Undelete command.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Walk Drives ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 This dialog lets you pick a directory by "walking" through the  directory
structure of your drives.

 On the left is a listbox containing all your drive letters.  If you  select a
drive, the directories on that drive fill the right listbox.

 If you select one of these directories, any subdirectories of that  directory
are displayed, as well as a special directory named ".."  which is actually the
previous (parent) directory. In this manner you  can walk to any directory on
any drive.

 When the desired directory is displayed on the bottom line of the  dialog,
click Okay to exit.  Click Cancel to exit without selecting a  directory.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Internal Viewer/Editor ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The internal viewer/editor is an extremely simplistic MLE window.  It is
strongly recommended that you replace it with a better one via the
Config->External Program Setup dialog available at any main window.

The internal viewer/editor creates a window for each file being viewed/ edited.
The Internal Viewer/Editor Switchlist can be used to switch between these
windows, close windows, show minimized windows, and so on.

Note that when saving files the editor formats the file so that it appears as
it does in the MLE.  The appearance of a file can be different in the MLE or in
the created disk file depending on various settings under Misc->Format Control,
notably Wrap.  Be sure you have these settings right for the way you want the
resultant file to look.

When the viewer/editor is in readonly mode (viewing), several menu items are
disabled to prevent you from changing the file by accident.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.1. Internal Viewer/Editor Switchlist ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 This dialog lets you recall, hide and close windows opened by the  internal
editor.  I used this rather than the normal CTRL-ESC switch  list to prevent
cluttering the normal switch list up with a bunch of  editor windows.  Note
that the accelerator key is SHIFT-CTRL-ESC to  make it easy to remember (just
add SHIFT to the normal switchlist  keystroke combination).

 Select the files you want to close, recall or hide in the listbox.  Then click
the appropriate button.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Tips and Tricks ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This section contains tips and tricks to help you get the most out of FM/2.
These are probably most useful to advanced users.  You can print this section
out by clicking the Print button at the bottom of this help frame.

Text view is the fastest for OS/2 to maintain, but conveys the least amount of
information.  Details view conveys the most information but is the slowest for
OS/2 to maintain.  Try Name view with mini-icons as a compromise.

^i will get you information on most any object.  Put the dotted line (cursor)
around the object of interest, then press and hold the CTRL key and press the
"i" key.  You can also click both mouse buttons on one of the recessed status
boxes above a container to invoke this command.

You can get useful help about a drag operation over an FM/2 window by pressing
F1 at the point where you'd drop the files.  This also aborts the drag
operation.

Accelerator keys are provided for most common functions. They're listed in the
menus beside the commands they invoke.  Learn the accelerators for things you
do frequently that can't be accomplished with drag and drop (for instance, ^p
for Pick from recently used directories).

You can copy more files than will fit on one diskette to a floppy drive. FM/2
will pause when the diskette fills and allow you to insert another. You still
can't copy one file larger than the receiving diskette, though.  The obvious
caveats apply if you're copying to a subdirectory on a floppy.

Can you find FM/2's hidden quick-command-line feature?  Nope, it's not F9...

FM/2 decides what directory will be the "default" directory when an external
program runs in the following manner:  First, if there's a path given for the
executable, that path will be used as the default directory.  If not, if
there's a path given for the first datafile, that path is used.  If not
(finally), FM/2 uses the directory from which it was started.

Little known PM keyboard shortcuts:

CTRL-DEL    erase an entry field to end of field
ALT-F6      move between related application windows

To make a very small font, try System VIO at a small point size, or try typing
a smaller point size for a font than is listed in the drop-down point size
control directly into the drop-down control's entry field component.

Note that a filled Details view container has no clear space on which to drop
an object.  FM/2 provides a way around this; you can drop on one of the
"recessed" status boxes above the container just as if it were an empty portion
of the container.  You can also request a context menu there.

See that little bitmap of a light switch at the top left of the directory
container?  Double-click B1 on it and the Pick from recently used directory
dialog appears.  Click both buttons simulatneously on it and the container is
rescanned.  Drop a directory on it and the container switches to that
directory.  If the container is the split container, click B2 on the switch and
the other container will switch to the directory of the currently cursored
object in the split container.

Open the Desktop's Settings notebook.  Click the Menu tab.  Drag your FM/2
program object onto the second listbox in the notebook window. From now on you
can start FM/2 by calling up the Desktop's context menu and selecting FM/2 from
the bottom of the menu. Be sure to put a single '%' sign at the end of FM/2's
program object parameter field (trust me).

Want file descriptions?  Tell FM/2 to Load Subjects via the appropriate toggle,
and turn on Details Subjects.  Switch to Details view and there they are.  This
is the same Subject field you see in a file object's Settings notebook on the
first File page.  Seek and Scan (available under the Collector window) can
search these descriptions.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. Registration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To register FM/2 (required after an initial 30 day evaluation period), send
$35.00 US for a personal registration, $75.00 US for a commercial registration
to:

M. Kimes
542 Merrick
Shreveport, LA  71104  USA

Include $5.00 US extra for shipment outside the continental US.  No plastic.
There's a REGISTER.TXT file in the distribution archive to help you make sure
you provide the right information to get your personalized registration as you
like it.

Registration entitles you to free upgrades for at least one year from the time
you receive your FM registration package, which will contain the most
up-to-date version of the product at time of shipment.

Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery via Snail Mail.  Feel free to use the unregistered
version while you wait, without guilt, or arrange quicker pickup via electronic
means from my BBS ([phone]) or FTN file request (Fidonet#1:380/16.0) with
prior arrangement.